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Chapter 19 Persuade Lin Tingjun

The money Aunt Yajuan sent from Hongzao Village finally arrived. Knowing her daughter had asked for money, she could guess that Yajuan must have been wronged. Along with the money came some peanuts and soybeans.

Qin Yajuan straightened her back at last, holding the things and the money, and went to meet the group of bell-bottomed youngsters at their usual hangout.

“Well, if it isn’t little Juánzi from the compound?” the bell-bottom gang sneered sarcastically.

Usually, she bragged about being a cadre’s daughter, but when it came to something as simple as treating them to a meal, she would fuss endlessly, reluctantly agree, and then disappear at the crucial moment.

It wasn’t like they had taken advantage of her. On the contrary, Qin Yajuan often ate with them, asked them for favors, and they always agreed without hesitation. Once, they had even nearly gotten dragged into the police station because of her.

Hearing the disdain in their words, Qin Yajuan quickly grabbed Liu Xiaoxia’s hand—she was the one she was closest to. “Sister Xia, you know me better than anyone. You know I’m not that kind of person.”

But Liu Xiaoxia shook her off and turned away. “I don’t know. Juánzi, last time I tried to persuade you with good intentions, and you ran off instead.”

“I didn’t forget, I didn’t forget.” Qin Yajuan hurriedly opened the bag of peanuts—she had secretly boiled them at the Lin household, afraid the family would notice. The Lins wouldn’t have cared about something like peanuts, but since she ate and lived with them every day, she felt it would be too much if she hoarded everything for herself.

Still, she knew her mother had already done her best to send her these, and she couldn’t expect more.

“Here, have some peanuts. They’re from… relatives in the countryside who just came over. Today at noon I’ll treat you all to a meal. My parents have been busy entertaining relatives these past few days, and I couldn’t get away.

I never forgot about you guys. The moment the relatives left, I hurried to treat you.”

“I’ll be starting work at the paper mill soon, so we won’t have many chances to meet again.”

She couldn’t help showing off—after all, so many people dreamed of getting into the paper mill. None of the people before her had the qualifications to enter. Her background might not match theirs, but soon enough, not one of them would be living better than her.

The bell-bottom gang picked up on the tone of her voice and immediately began to flatter her, tossing out compliments as if they cost nothing.

“Alright, enough flattery. How about that thing I asked you to find out for me?” Qin Yajuan basked in their praise, then raised her chin again.

The group exchanged looks. A few days ago, when they hadn’t seen her, they assumed she was avoiding them to dodge paying for a meal, so who had the mood to help her investigate anything? They had just been gossiping about her instead.

But now that they had eaten her peanuts, they couldn’t very well refuse.

“Juánzi, we asked around…”

“Yes, we did. There really is a guy named Wang Yuejin at the paper mill.”

“We don’t know him personally, though, so we’re not sure if it’s the same person you were talking about.”

“Wang Yuejin” was such a common name back then—drop a tree branch in the wind and you could hit three of them.

In such a big paper mill, it would be stranger if there wasn’t someone named Wang Yuejin. Even if there wasn’t, as long as they said they’d found one, that was enough.

Qin Yajuan finally felt relieved, her heart settling back into place. So what if she suffered a little at the Lin household? Soon she would be living her dream life. If Xu Jingchu wanted to stay at the Lins as a nanny, then let her!

Thinking this, she grew even more smug. For the next few days she hummed tunes everywhere she went, and even her attitude toward Xu Jingchu softened a little.

Xu Jingchu only watched silently, amused. She thought Yajuan was really on her way to happiness. But what Yajuan didn’t know was that her so-called “good days” were still far off.

Wang Yuejin was extremely picky about looks, and besides, he wasn’t even a paper mill employee. For Qin Yajuan, the road to her “dream life” was still a long one.

Xu Jingchu, however, was genuinely happy. According to her past-life memories, once school started, Lin Tingjun would spend most of his time on campus, only occasionally returning on weekends.

With just the Lin couple and Lin Tingyu at home, Xu Jingchu would feel much more at ease.

In truth, Lin Tingjun had been treating her much better lately, but she still wanted to keep her distance.

She feared that if she got too close to him, the Lin couple would start thinking again about marrying them off.

She had no intention of marrying. She only wanted to study hard for this one year, get into university, then find ways to earn tuition. After graduation, she planned to save early and prepare for the future.

Tomorrow! Lin Tingjun would be leaving for school. Zhang Qiuyun couldn’t bear to part with her son, so she specially asked Xu Jingchu to cook a few good dishes.

Braised prawns, red-braised pork—dishes they rarely got to eat. From the moment the meal started, Lin Tingyu buried his head in the food without saying a word.

Zhang Qiuyun fussed over her son again and again. “Tingjun, come home often. Mom worries about you. Don’t skip meals, don’t always be buried in your books, remember to rest.”

Lin Tingjun patiently responded to each one, but Lin Jianbai grew impatient. “You worry about him, but does he listen? When it comes to big things, he won’t let his parents step in. Being a soldier would be much better…”

Lin Tingjun bit back his words, choosing not to argue. Otherwise, it would just turn into another shouting match. He couldn’t understand his father.

Of course, soldiers who defended the nation were great, but his own field of study could also serve the country in practical ways, helping to build it up. In the future, knowledge would become more and more important.

But his father was old-fashioned and stubborn. No matter what was said, he wouldn’t listen.

In the past, Tingjun would argue back, and the two would fight until they were red in the face. He never managed to convince his father, and instead, he would end up scolded, their relationship growing only more strained.

Now, he had learned silence. His father could say whatever he wanted—he simply wouldn’t listen. If he couldn’t understand, then so be it.

“Uncle Lin, Aunt Zhang only worries about Tingjun. As the saying goes, ‘When a son travels a thousand miles, his mother’s heart follows.’”

Xu Jingchu spoke up to smooth things over. Defending Aunt Zhang wouldn’t cause any misunderstandings, right?

“A grown man in his twenties doesn’t need anyone worrying over him,” Lin Jianbai retorted loudly. He didn’t want his son to be as delicate as some pampered girl.

“But everyone needs someone to care about them. Just yesterday, Aunt Zhang reminded you at work to drink more water and take naps. You seemed happy about it, didn’t you? Being cared for is a kind of blessing.”

Her voice was soft, her face smiling—there was no way anyone could get angry at her.

Lin Jianbai stayed silent, tacitly conceding the point. Zhang Qiuyun gave Xu Jingchu an appreciative look.

“Jingchu, you’re amazing! In all the years I’ve been married to your Uncle Lin, I’ve never seen him convinced by anyone else’s words. Normally, he just uses his own twisted logic to anger everyone.”

Zhang Qiuyun was so delighted that when Xu Jingchu went to the kitchen to clean up, she sneaked in after her. The two shut the door and chatted while washing dishes.

“Your Uncle Lin is a good man in most ways, but he’s too stubborn and old-fashioned. I’ve explained over and over how important Tingjun’s major is, but he just won’t hear it.

I even tried using Chairman Mao’s theory about different roles in the revolution. He still wouldn’t listen! He even told me studying doesn’t count as a revolution.”

“Tingjun is the same way—wonderful in every respect, except he’s just as stubborn as his father. Both of them, stubborn as mules!”

“Jingchu, since you’re the same age as Tingjun, could you help Auntie persuade him sometimes? Tell him to take the initiative, lower his pride a little, and communicate more with his father?”

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